Abbreviating names of months to reduce clutter

It's always worthwhile to look for ways to reduce clutter and enhance clarity on slides. One space-saver technique for data-driven charts is to abbreviate the names of months. The best way is to represent the months by using only the first three letters. Don't use "June" and "July" unabbreviated because the names are short and then abbreviate the other months. Don't use the abbreviation "Sept" for September; use "Sep." Remember to always abbreviate the names of months in a consistent manner. This is a simple best practice, but it eliminates a widespread misapplication of inconsistent abbreviations. Remember this one.